Arrowette Returns
by arrowxtte
Summary: Years after having given up the Arrowette alias, Cissie is thrown back into the world of heroes as a new threat arises in her city. With Meta humans running around & a Crime Lord controlling them, can Cissie protect her friends, city & herself? Laced with betrayal & deaths, Arrowette is finding it impossible to do the moral thing. It can only end with spille blood & stolen lives.
1. Memory Lane

**Gateway City  
11:29 PM**

_I didn't want to be a hero._

Sitting on the rooftop, the blond woman kept her eyes trained on the dark blue car below. A bow resting at her side, fingers itching to grab an arrow and send it straight through the windshield of the car below.

After over an hour of watching, a man finally exited the building nearest the car. Glancing in both directions, the man fumbled with the keys a moment before climbing in. A smile managed to find its way to the woman's lips as an arrow finally came to rest on the bow. Pulling it back, she took in a deep breath and—

_I'm not the hero either._

Let the air fly as she exhaled. The sound of the windshield shattering was satisfying, followed by the man's screaming. She watched in slight amusement as he finally noticed the note stuck to the arrow. She began counting off in her mind.

One. _I've done this before._ Two.

The man's eyes went wide as he read over the letter.

Three._ The other's had the same reaction._ Four

He attempted to shove the key into the ignition.

Five._ They never get away._ Six.

Finally getting the car to start, he almost looked relieved.

Pulling another arrow back with the string, the woman aimed at the man. She never missed a target, especially not when they had parts for a time machine she needed built. Letting the arrow fly, she smiled slightly as the man spotted the speeding arrow and screamed out for help.

_I don't think I ever _was _a hero._

Silence.

**Gateway City  
January 14****th**** 5:50pm PM**

_Cissie King-Jones. Former Arrowette. Olympic Gold medal winner for archery. I'm not much to most people. I still have a high standing profile, but as a normal person. Sort of. I'm a Gold winner and I was on Wendy the Werewolf Stalker and that's all that makes me special now. Not that I mind though. I prefer it actually._

"I'll see you Friday, Jones." A man called from an office in the corner of the shooting range.

"Sure thing!" the blond girl called back, a smile grazing her face, not a worry in the world, other than whether she would pass her next test in Pre-Calculus that is. Exiting the building, she glanced around in search of somebody. Well, two somebodies. Greta Hayes, her longtime friend, both girls had once been Superheroes on a team called Young Justice. They worked alongside Impulse, Robin, Wonder Girl and Superboy. Arrowette—Cissie was the first to go. She had let her emotions get the best of her and nearly took the lives of two men. She put down the bow after that, well, the hero version of her bow that is. She kept up with her archery but only as a sport and competition. Greta, she was another story. The girl had been killed by her own brother, she had been bound to this earth after that, seemingly due to having unfinished business. Eventually though, they did bring her back but that's a story for a different time. Long story short, Greta was alive again and had decided upon a normal life.

The other person Cissie was searching for was a recent friend. A girl by the name of Sarah Monteyo. A friend she had made shortly after giving up the hero gig and somebody she trusted with her life.

Glancing at her watch, Cissie noted it was already six. Normally the two girls were here by now. Every Wednesday, Cissie came to the shooting range for practice until six, afterwards she, Greta and Sarah would head to the local ice cream shop then head home to finish homework. It was odd that the girls were late.

_I'm a senior in high school. I've got scholarships lined up for me due to my Gold Winner status, not that I mind. I'm hoping to go to Holliday University here in Gateway and I'm going to be a pre-med student. I want to be a Physician._

Sitting on the nearest bench, Cissie stared at the sky as it changed colors, eventually being swallowed into the dark blue of the night. Seven o'clock. Worry struck deep in her gut but she had to head back to campus. Dialing Greta on the way, she got nothing but her voicemail. Sarah was something similar. Her phone rang, but she never answered.

Nine o'clock rolled around and she half contemplated calling the principle, something was wrong. It was too late at night for Greta and Sarah to be out and about, they would've called by now, they would've come back. Swallowing down her guilt, Cissie picked up the dorm phone fully intent on dialing the principle when a knock at the door had her dropping the phone and racing to answer it in hopes that Greta would be standing there.

That hope was of course shattered by the principle herself standing in the doorway, a look of pure sorrow on her face. She didn't have to speak a word, Cissie knew immediately something was _way_ wrong. And without being told, Cissie rushed out into the hall and towards the exit, the principle close behind her.

The ride was quiet. Not a word spoken, not even a tear shed. Upon spotting the hospital, Cissie let out a sob that had been building in her chest. Her friends had been hurt and Cissie hadn't known this whole time.

Not bothering to wait for the car to stop, Cissie pushed the door open and stumbled out as she managed to stay on her feet. Racing inside, she could hear the pitter patter of her bare feet on the cool hospital floor. She hadn't even bothered to pull on her shoes. Nearly crashing into the front desk, she couldn't seem to find her voice, eyes wide, shaking, she seemingly just stood there until the woman behind the desk spotted the principle and spoke up.

"Room A104 on the first floor sweetheart."

Not even a "thank you" was uttered before Cissie took off. The room number coming into focus as she pushed open the door, stumbling in, the first thing she spotted was the mess of black hair that belonged to Sarah. She couldn't find it in herself to rush to the girl's side, instead she slowly shuffled over as she took in the sight before her. The girl had a black eye, her bottom lip was busted and her cheeks were puffed and bruising. Her left leg in a cast as well as her right arm. She wasn't wearing a gown, she had bandages wrapped around her chest and abdomen and the blanket was resting at her waist where the line of hospital pants could be seen.

With shaking hands, Cissie reached out to touch the other girl's hand. Tears built in her eyes but refusing to pour out. A nurse entered and began to move about the many machines around and hooked up to Sarah. Finally finding her voice, Cissie spoke up, the nurse jumping slightly at the sudden sound.

"Greta?" she wasn't sure if she had even spoken. Her voice sounded raspy, strained, almost like it didn't want to work. Had the nurse understood her? Why was she just staring? And when she shook her head, Cissie felt a pang in her chest. Like a knife. A pain worse than when an arrow had pierced through her body. A pain worse than when she had been beaten to unconsciousness. A pain worse than anything else.

She had lost Greta yet again.

"No." she shook her head. It couldn't be. "No! Y-you liar!" it came out louder than she had intended. "L-liar! W-where's Greta! Where is she?" she was shrieking, she must've sounded hysterical because two more nurses rushed in to see what the commotion was about. "W-why?! Why are you—you're lying!"

"Cissie, please." The principle sounded…a word wouldn't register for how she sounded. Hurt? Upset? Pained? Angry? Cissie couldn't name it, but her voice made Cissie slip to the ground, tears finally pouring down her cheeks, shoulders shaking as she struggled to breathe in.

And so the hours crawled by as the room cleared. Cissie refused to go back to the dorms so the principle allowed her to stay before leaving herself. She kept her eyes trained on the girl lying motionless on the hospital bed. She didn't leave to get a drink, she didn't leave to eat something. She didn't leave.

And by the time Sarah woke up, Cissie was half asleep before shouting caught her attention.

"It's your fault!" she shrieked. And so confusion settled in. Cissie was to blame? "I-it's because…you…Arrowette. You stopped—she said—she needed Arrowette. She said…you c-could've stopped it—prevented it. You could've prevented all of this if you—hadn't s-stopped being Arrowette." Sarah choked out, wincing with every few words. "This is y-your fault."

And so the guilt was pinned to Cissie. Something she could never live with. Guilt. It had driven her to give up Arrowette, to risk giving up her friends. And now it was threatening to drive her back to the mask and bow.

Sarah pointed to the dresser with her good hand before turning her head away and then her breathing evened out. She had gone back to sleep. Cissie blinked as her attention turned to the note on the dresser. The one Sarah had pointed to. Picking it up, she quickly read the writing on the outside.

"_For Cissie King-Jones only. Anybody else dare to read this and I will come back for the other girl._"

The killer had written this and the hand writing looked familiar. Painfully. But she couldn't quite pinpoint whose it was.

With shaky hands, she pulled the note open, the hand writing catching her attention yet again. All too familiar but unsure of where it was from.

"_You could've prevented this but instead you wanted to be normal. Well normal people lose their friends. Watch out._"

She had just been threatened through a letter. And she was going to take this seriously. They…wanted Arrowette back. They were forcing her. Giving up her childhood hadn't been enough, no, now she had to give up her whole life for it? Crumpling the note in her hand, she returned to the chair, the note slipping to the ground, her eyes resting on the glossy floor as it blurred behind tears. There was no escape.

Arrowette would return.

* * *

**A/N: A comic idea I've had for a while. I have 35 chapters outlined and hopefully I'll think of another story arc after that! Arrowette is a great character and I'm hoping to shed some light on her! If you have any questions feel free to ask them here or on A03 or at .com! I'll be posting a chapter every Monday! Eventually might be every other Monday but for now it's every monday. **


	2. Suit Up

**Gateway City; Elias School For Girls  
January 17****th**** 12:00 PM**

Cissie sat on her bed, eyes staring at the other half of the room that had belonged to Greta. That half of the room was now stripped bare, the principle had had it cleared out the very next day. And so Cissie now remained with one bed, a desk, a dresser and half a decorated room. She had been told it was too late into the year for her to have another roommate but should they get a new student then Cissie would have a new roommate, until then, she was on her own.

Cissie had spoken with her mom the day before. Her relationship with her mom was something different, it was a love—hate kind of thing. They tended to get along every now and then but occasionally her mom would screw things up and push Cissie away for a short amount of time. They always sprung back though and Cissie had rushed to call her mother in tears to tell her about Greta and Sarah.

Cassie Sandsmark, also known as Wonder Girl. She was Cissie's best friend and luckily she went to school here as well. They had spent the whole day after together, crying, comforting each other and calling up their old teammates with the news. The school had arranged a funeral themselves seeing as how Greta had no other listed relatives. Tim, Kon—Conner, Bart and Anita had all come along with the whole school body. Traya had written a letter of apology upon being unable to return for the funeral.

Her friends were close for this event, they weren't a team anymore, Cassie and Tim were still with the Titans but Conner and Bart had recently returned from the dead, they hadn't come around to joining the team again. Anita, she had gone her own way, her parents had been turned into babies and she was raising them with the help of her Uncle. To say the least, they weren't a team anymore, none of them, but they were still friends and still there for each other.

Bart had been Cissie's best friend long before the Young Justice team had been formed. They had known each other for so long, she had mourned his death and yet she had kept her distance when he came back but older and became the Flash, life was complicated when you were best friends with super heroes. Bart had become the Flash for a small time and had eventually been killed by the Rogues and Cissie had half a month hung up on his death. Cassie had spent the better part of a whole year hung up on Conner's death as well, the two girls were much a like when it came to mourning lost friends…lost loves. Of course, Conner and Bart had come in September, not too long ago, just barely four months ago and they had kept their distance, but death can do that to a person, traumatize you into keeping out of the hero gig, y'know?

But so the funeral had come and gone, the old team members returned to their homes and their lives and moved on, back to normal—or as normal as they could get anyways. Cissie on the other hand, would be returning to a life she had sworn away long ago. Back to a life of crime fighting, bows, masks and long nights. Cissie would be giving up the life she had always wanted for the life that had been forced upon her by her own mother.

"Stupid hero life…" Cissie grumbled before jumping to her feet and storming over to her closet. Pulling the door open, she rummaged through things until she reached the very back where a large dark red box was hidden. Forcing the box out from under the rest of the junk in her closet, she brought it to her bed and dropped it down before clicking it open. The sight made her stomach turn and her face pale, but she grabbed hold of the familiar and worn red gloves of the Arrowette costume. Tossing them back into the case, she grabbed the mask before sighing and walking to the mirror on the dresser. Staring at herself, she pulled the mask on and over her head. Arrowette staring back at her.

"_They'll pay for this. Through the nose."_ _Cissie growled, bow in hand, hood pulled over her head and the cold murky water drenching her boots as she stormed through the marsh after two men, fully intent on murdering them._

Letting out a cry, she pulled the mask off and tossed it across the room before stumbling back and tripping over her feet. Hitting the ground she couldn't help but lay there, a sobbing mess.

"I could've prevented this."

**10:30 PM**

It's strange really. The feeling of the skirt flapping around her legs, the thigh high boots, the layered shorts under her skirt. Her midriff so exposed from the chest plate crop top. The gloves feel shorter than she remembered. He quiver feels heavier, maybe it's just the idea that some of the arrows in it were used for almost murder. The bow in hand feels the same way, much too heavy, emotionally though, not physically. The mask feels like a second layer, a forced on mask that she wishes she could pull off and toss away.

Her eyes are slightly glazed over as she stares at the Gateway Memorial Hospital. She's not sure which window is the room Sarah is staying in, but she doesn't really mind, maybe keeping her distance for a while would be the best thing for the both of them. It would remove Sarah from any further danger and it would maybe help Cissie cope with the recent loss.

Cissie jumps at the sudden sound of somebody landing behind her. Spinning around, she simply stares at the hooded figure. Back when she still liked being Arrowette she probably would've aimed an arrow at the other, would've been prepared for a fight and probably sent a snarky remark towards them. Now? She simply stared and wondered if they would be nice enough to push her off the building and handicap her in order to prevent her from being Arrowette any longer. Of course, that idea was horrible and something she wouldn't admit out loud. She might've told Marcy though…

That however doesn't stop the slight feeling of recognition and shock at the sight of the other. A full body suit, completely black, a hood pulled over their head so far, Cissie can hardly see their chin. Though the black mask covering most of their face might be helping in that factor as well. They have a crossbow strapped to their back and black gloves covering their arms as well as black circlets around their upper arms.

"Glad you're back." The person speaks up, laughter in their voice.

"What?" Cissie can't help the confused look that crosses her face. The lady in black pulls an arrow from the crossbow and Cissie can't help but panic slightly. She's not sure who this person is or what they want or even how they knew Cissie would be here, but it definitely leaves an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Aren't you glad to be back too? Arrowette the Archer! Back in uniform and ready to protect the streets of her city, doesn't that have a nice ring to it?" the woman asks, arrow twirling in her hand as she steps closer.

"No. I don't want this—" she doesn't get a chance to finish the sentence before the woman pulls her hand back and shoots the arrow forward with such force and accuracy that it pierces straight through the front Cissie's shoulder and half way out of the back of it. Stumbling back, the woman grabs the front of her shirt and pulls her forward before tossing her to the side, the arrow snapping in half and Cissie shrieking as splinters find their way into her skin.

The woman is standing over Cissie, a glare directed at her as Arrowette holds back the urge to cry.

"You better start warming up to the idea of Arrowette again," she's pulling the rest of the arrow out before Cissie can throw a complaint out or beg her to stop. The sick popping sound of the arrow exiting her shoulder has Cissie wanting to barf but instead she closes her eyes and chokes on a sob as the woman continues to talk.

"Arrowette needs to save this town from a rising threat. You're the only hope left, but don't worry, I'll tell you what it is before I leave."

Nothing else comes, no sounds, no explanation, not even pain. Cissie blinks her eyes open only to find the woman gone and the wound on her shoulder gone as well. There's no pain, no blood, no splinters, as if the whole incident hadn't even happened, no sign left behind. Cissie feels sick to her stomach but swallows it before glancing at the hospital window one last time.

There's a threat coming and Arrowette has to stop it.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Author here, if you're liking the story so far then check out the blog, it'll have character bios up soon and it's ahead by one chapter as well! URL is .com and feel free to message me with questions there. I'll answer things that don't give away spoilers. Also, get ready! Some pretty good action is coming up in #2! **


	3. Going Public

**Gateway City; Elias School For Girls**

**January 21****st**

It's officially been a full week since Sarah was hospitalized and Greta murdered. Cissie has stopped a few muggings, other than that, she hasn't done much. She hasn't been on the news, nobody really knows she's back and nobody knows if she's a hero or even who she is. The few people she's helped have asked who she was but she never sticks around to give them an answer.

She hasn't even told her friends.

Bart is the first to come to mind. She wants to tell him, she wants him to know, he's always known everything, they've been friends since long before their Young Justice days and Cissie feels like he has every right to know she's back in the hero gig. At least, _trying_ to get back in the hero gig. The only thing holding her back is fear, in all honesty. She's afraid that as soon as Kid—Conner, Tim and Cassie find out they'll ask her to join the team again—at least, the new team, the Teen Titans. But that's not her. Sure the Young Justice days were great, but they were short lived and something she doesn't want to revisit for fear of what she might do. At least if she's solo, she won't tarnish her friends reputations should she do something she'll regret like before.

She just can't tell them. Not yet anyways.

**10:21 PM**

Typical night so far. Listening to the police scanner through her blue tooth. She's never close enough to nay robbery or anything exciting, she's not sure whether she grateful or disappointed. No muggings, no car chases, nothing. Walking along a rooftop edge, she's playing tight rope walker before she hears the hushed whispers of a group of men down below her.

There's a big time art gallery in the building beside the one she's standing on. They make a good hundred thousand dollars a day and probably keep it in the fault inside. It's something she figures from the sight of the men exiting with large bags in hand and tossing them into the van parked in the alley. There's no alarm, no humming of a silent alarm even, something she can normally hear. So this is it. Her big chance to finally stop something big. Maybe if she's lucky this is the big threat the lady in the black suit was talking about. Of course, with her luck, it isn't.

Pulling her bow off her shoulder, she quickly puts an arrow in place and has it aimed within a second, she was always fast when it came to shooting but she hesitates. Her aim isn't anything fatal, just a shot through the shit to pin the man to the wall. She's done it several times during her Arrowette years, yet she hesitates. Maybe it's the guilt building in the stomach, maybe it's the fear that she'll mess up. But she lets the arrow go and a sigh of relief follows as the man drops the bag and is pinned to the wall with a scream.

Using her grappling arrow, Arrowette is quickly on the ground, another arrow in place and aimed at the second man.

"Drop the bags and put your hands in the air or I'll shoot!" she probably doesn't sound or even look so threatening but the man is clearly afraid. That is, until the sound of a gun going off fills the air and Arrowette barely has time to dodge the bullet as it grazes her arm and slices it open. Turning around quickly, she drops the arrow but swings her bow up like a bat and smashes it into the man face before racing around the truck and taking a breather. She can hear the man reloading the gun and aiming around the alley, clearly not having seen where she went.

She can hear his heart racing, it's crazy, something she's always hated about herself. Swallowing hard, she notches an arrow and quickly aims around the truck only to find the man gone, the guy she had pinned earlier gone as well. Then she hears it, the man's footsteps, his hard breathing, and then the grunt as he aims a punch at her. Turning, she blocks it and brings her bow behind his neck before pulling down hard and bringing her knee up to meet with his face. Pushing him back, she turns as the third man shoots at her several times. She manages to dodge each bullet before hitting the wall of the alley. Spotting a window to another store just down the alley, she aims an arrow and smashes the window just as the man tosses the gun and comes at her. She can hear the alarm going off, a silent one and a smirk finds its way to her face as she blocks the man's punch and grabs ahold of his wrist before twisting it behind him. He lashes out with his other hand and lands a punch to her forearm before sweeping her feet out from under her. Arrowette is on the ground, a gun pointed at her face once again. Dropping her bow, she lets out a laugh before throwing both hands forward and throwing off his aim as the gun is fired. Kicking her feet up she aims for his right knee and kicks hard, a cracking filling the air and followed by a scream as he hits the ground hard beside her.

Glancing around the alley, Arrowette makes sure all three men are still down before grabbing her bow and hearing the sirens of the police as they turn into the alley. With several guns pointed at her, Cissie turns to look at them, hands on the air, blood still running down her arm from where the gun had grazed her.

"They…they were robbing this place." Arrowette calls out before her knees buckle and she hits the ground panting. She wasn't as in shape as she used to be, this really wore her down, not that she wanted to admit that. She would have to pick up her vigorous training again if she wanted to keep up with this. The cops are talking, debating really. Finally, they put their guns down and one of them comes over, helping her up and into the car.

She's in the hospital, not that she really needed to be there, the wound wasn't so bad, but they had wanted her to get checked up anyways, so she had agreed. She was wrapped up and questioned within the hour, the doctor not having spoken a single word the whole time.

Finally, as the room was cleared, the man smiled at her before flipping through pages on his clipboard.

"Dr. Ivory." He has a strong accent to him, Indian perhaps. "It wasn't so bad, the wound." He explains, pencil pointing to her arm as his eyes glance over her. "Should you ever end up in this hospital again, I'll be the one to patch you up," Arrowette doesn't respond other than a nod. She doesn't plan to come back here, but that might be something out of her control in all honesty.

"Might I ask your name?"

"Arrowette."

He seems to wait for further explanation but nods as nothing else comes.

"Alright, Arrowette. Can I ask another thing?" Arrowette doesn't reply, instead just shrugs, just itching to get out of there already. "Why the skirt and exposed midriff? It can't be too practical to be running around in such an outfit. Might I suggest a full body suit? Even a bullet proof vest. And as an archer, I do not think your long hair is a good idea, does it not get in the way?" he's asking all the practical questions Cissie has asked herself time and time before but never acted upon.

She always wondered why her mom had risked sending her out in such a costume. Sent her out in heels and a cape with a crown and a girly little skirt. Something that could get her killed and laughed at. Something she had never bothered to fix herself and yet, here was a doctor, giving her better advice than her own mother.

"My mom." It's all she replies with, not much of an explanation but it would have to suffice for the man. He simply nods before setting the clipboard down on the counter and crossing his arms, eyes trained on her face as if he's trying to see through it. To see who she is under it.

"Alright, you are free to go. Between you and me, this will be charged to the GCPD, you were brought here against your will and personally, I have been wanting to get back at the Chef for a while not." He adds with a small laugh. Arrowette gives a small smile before standing and pulling the door open, the man clearing his throat. Stopping, Arrowette hesitates before glancing over her shoulder at the man.

"Thank you."

He smiles and nods. "It's my job.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey guys! Hope you liked the new chapter, sorry the update was a bit delayed! If you have any questions or need anything clarified feel free to message me at .com! I reply pretty quick. Also the blog has character bio's, updates, fanart and other stuff so feel free to check it out! The blog is also ahead by about 2 chapters if I recall correctly. You can also read this on wattpadd or Ao3 btw! If you prefer any of those platforms. So yeah leave a review and what not!


	4. A Change of Looks

**Gateway City; Elias School For Girls  
January 22****nd**** 3:20 pm**

Sarah was released from the hospital finally. She's back in the dorms and right down the hall. Cissie would've visited, but Sarah requested Cissie keep her distance. She doesn't mind…in a way, it'll keep Sarah out of harm's way and that means one less person Cissie has to worry about getting hurt because of her. Not like there were many in the first place anyways.

"_Why the skirt and exposed midriff? It can't be too practical to be running around in such an outfit."_

Cissie frowned slightly at the thought. The doctor had a point, her midriff was so exposed and the top barely had enough hardness to it to slow a bullet down and the skirt? What was she thinking keeping that?

"_Might I suggest a full body suit? Even a bullet proof vest."_

Something he mom had in a way suggested as well. Not as a "It'll keep you safe" kind of way but more of a "It'll create more Arrowette merchandise, think of the possibilities!" kind of way. Her mom had created a "Dark Arrowette" outfit which seemed more practical than her normal Arrowette outfit. The dark outfit was a full body suit with a strap on bag, backpack style quiver, a hood and night vision goggles. It even had the whole bullet proof vest thing going on. Of course, the long sleeves were a bit restricting around the joints, but that was an easy fix in all honesty.

"_And as an archer, I do not think your long hair is a good idea, does it not get in the way?"_

Yeah the long hair was probably a bad idea too, but it made her different. If she went for the pixie cut, she would look too much like her mom and _that_ was something she didn't want, ever. As much as she was starting to like her mom better now…she still didn't want to be anything like her.

And so Cissie set to work on fixing the outfit. She had learned to sew and patch suits up so trimming the sleeves off enough to allow sufficient arm movement and flexibility was an easy feat. The suit came with a multitude of belts and pouches to attach to it so she made quick use of those. One around her waist that held a few pouches with several different darts in it, a few smoke pellets (something she learned from the great and mighty Red Robin himself) and one pouch would hold her phone, keys and such, y'know, typical hero stuff. Another belt connected to the belt around her waist on her right side then slanted down over her hips and held a knife to her left thigh. The knife had another strap at the bottom of the pouch that wrapped around her thigh so as to prevent it from flopping around too much. The quiver was like a backpack, it strapped over and under her shoulders and kept it from shaking around, it also had another strap across her chest to keep it in position even better. And lastly, the hood. She still had the typical Arrowette mask that covered her cheeks, forward and part of her neck, the hood though was sewn into the suits neck. It looked a bit piled around the shoulders but it made for good cover and for keeping her hair out of the way. She still left her hair long and loose, like she had said before, she refused to cut it short like her mother.

Pulling the suit on, she stared in the mirror. She didn't look like Dark Arrowette and she didn't look like the regular Arrowette. No, she was a mix of the two now. But she's not really sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

**Gateway City; Alley Way; Crime Scene  
January 22****nd**** 10:45 pm**

Finding Greta's killer.

That was the biggest task on her mind at the moment. She would find her killer and bring them to justice. She wouldn't lose control and try to kill them the way she did with Marcy's killers…no, this time she had better control over herself. She would do this the right way, bring them to justice and turn them into the police and let the court do its job.

Finding her way to the alley where Greta and Sarah had been found, Arrowette examined the place. It didn't look like much of a struggle went down. Like it was quick and somewhat painless…something Marcy hadn't experienced. Her death had been dragged out, recorded and she had suffered.

Shaking her head, Arrowette crouched down by the large red stain on the ground. Unsure if the blood belongs to Greta or Sarah…according to the hospital records, Sarah had lost a lot of blood as well. Greta, her autopsy said she had died instantly. A blow to the back of her head, fatal, died in the moment of impact and had bleed out from the cracked skull. It didn't sound like such a great way to go, but then again, no way sounded like a great way to go.

"You shouldn't be here."

The voice rings in Arrowette's head as she spins around and comes face to face with the woman in black. Her prime suspect in this crime and here she was, at the scene of the crime, what a coincidence. Arrowette had an arrow on her bow and pulled back in just seconds, a sneer on her face and boy if looks could kill, that woman would be six feet under already.

"Why the hell did you attack me the other night?!" she's shrieking, she doesn't realize it, but she is.

No answer.

"Why are you here?!" her voice is shaking, almost like it wants to shatter.

No answer.

"I-it was you? Wasn't it! Right?!" and so it cracks. Her voice is no longer loud and strong, but small and broken.

No answer.

"Answer me!" the shriek is back. High pitched, broken, hurt and…filled with venom and anger.

The woman in black looks down to the blood on the alley behind Cissie before nodding and looking back up to the blonde archer. She opens her mouth to speak but doesn't get the chance as Arrowette lets the arrow go. The woman in black is quick, she narrowly dodges the arrow but Arrowette quickly sprints forward, bow swinging from the right, inward and directed at the ladies head. The woman brings her arm up and blocks Arrowette's bow with curved blades on her wrist, something Arrowette had neglected to notice before.

The woman swings her foot up and aimed for Arrowette's side but Arrowette flips backwards, dodging the kick before pulling an arrow out and having it in place before she even hits the ground. Letting it fly, she smirks as the arrow grazes the woman's shoulder, blood trickling down her suit. The woman doesn't seem to pay much mind to it though, she's quickly flipping forward, her leg being brought down with such force that Arrowette barely dodges. Stumbling to the side, Arrowette has just enough time to bring her bow up to block the woman's next punch. A punch to her left, the right, under and then the right twice, the finally punch hitting Arrowette hard in the abdomen. Swinging the bow in an arc, the woman catches it and yanks Arrowette forward, knee being brought up to hit her hard in the chest before twisting the bow from her grasp and hitting the archer over the head with it. Hitting the ground, Arrowette is panting before a kick is sent to her jaw and she's on her back.

Panting, Arrowette's eyes are darting around the alley, the woman standing above her. Pulling her arm up, Arrowette wipes the blood from her chin, smearing it more than cleaning it away. The woman pulls her leg back, a kick aimed for Arrowette's side but instead is caught and pulled out from under her, sending the woman in black tumbling to the ground. Arrowette is quick to jump on her and yank the woman's hood down.

And cue the slight shock and feeling of recognition.

Blonde hair tumbles out from the woman's hood and Arrowette remains frozen for just a few seconds, enough time for the woman to pull a knife from her waist and slash at Arrowette's exposed upper arm before tossing her to the side. Arrowette hits the ground but quickly jumps to her feet, the woman staring her down, hood still pooled around her shoulders in a similar manner to Arrowette's own hood.

"I was just trying to help you before I had to go back. I needed to warn—" Arrowette doesn't allow her the time to finish the sentence before jumping forward, hand curling around a fist full of blonde hair. The woman slices up with the knife, instead of slicing through Arrowette's hand, she cuts her hair before pulling herself up the fire escape and out of sight. Arrowette stands shaking, hand full of blonde hair and lip still bleeding, her sides most likely bruised, but well worth it. She has all the DNA samples she needs to find out just who this person is.

Collecting her bow and a few arrows, she notices the blood on one arrow head, something more suitable to test on.

**Gateway City; STAR Labs  
January 23****rd**** 3:30pm**

School drags on that day. All Cissie really wants is to get the hair and blood sample to a lab and find out who this woman was. She wants a name to pin to Greta's killers and she will have that.

She'll admit, she contemplated calling up Tim and having him test the samples for her, but that would require him knowing why she needs to find out the identity of the owner of the hair and blood, as well as requiring Cissie to reveal she's back in the hero gig. Yet, that's something Cissie doesn't want yet. She doesn't want her friends knowing just yet.

So instead, she did the next most logical thing possible. She broke into STAR Labs and hoped for the best.

Cissie walks with a purpose. She's always been a good actress, she's always managed to fool people, lie, pretend and she could do it all too well— that is, when she didn't know the people. It was damn near impossible for her to lie to those she knew or cared for, but when it came to strangers, Cissie was a grade A liar. That is, until she ran into this man and lost her train of thought.

He's not somebody much older than her, in fact, he might barely be a year older. He's definitely taller, but a bit on the thin side. He's got that auburn colored hair Cissie loves so much and matching bright grass green eyes. Bright colored eyes, something Cissie has always given into. She likes to believe it started with Bart Allen, her long time best friend, his eyes were an impossible golden yellow. A color to rival a sun set, something Cissie wouldn't admit out loud of course…no way.

"What are you doing here?"

And so her train of thought is crashed. Exploding. On Fire. Done with. Cissie stumbles over her words, unable to form a lie, unable to even form _any_ words.

"I know for a fact you shouldn't be here, so I'll give you the chance to explain what you're doing or I'm calling security." He snapped, arms crossing over his chest and Cissie resisting the urge to cave and tell him the truth.

"I uh—I got lost on the way to the bathroom." Smooth. Real smooth. The guy raised an eyebrow before letting out a laugh and shaking his head.

"Honestly? Is that the best you could come up with?" Cissie gives a small shrug before her hands move to her hips.

"Y'know, I should be asking what _you're_ doing here. You're just a teenager like me, you shouldn't be here either. So go ahead, call security, they'll kick you out too." She snapped, a confident and winning smirk forming on her face.

"Doubt it. I work here, well, I intern here, anyways." He scoffed, pulling an ID badge out from his pocket, a picture, authorization level, his name and finger print on it. And so her grin deflated before she sighed.

"Fine—" and she was cut off by the buzzing of a communicator on the boy's hip.

"I have to head back to work, but I'm walking you out. Look, meet me at the Gateway Café around the corner at five, you can tell me what you were doing and I'll help you out if I can, alright?" he doesn't give her the chance to reply before he's got his hands on her shoulders, spinning her around and pushing her down the hall. Cissie's actually stunned and impressed by his bold move to just outright kick her out on his own. At least he wasn't calling security though.

And so Cissie found herself outside of STAR Labs and glancing to her watch. She had an hour before their "meeting" time. That is, if she decided to even go.

* * *

**A/N:** WHoa this chapter was a lot longer than the usual ones! This one was about 2.2k words while the other chapters are about 1.2k so there's that! Any ways, I've been working on issue covers and I'll be posting those on the blog soonish within the next two weeks soonish! If I work quick enough on them then I can post each issue cover when I post it's chapter!

Anyways, I've posted a character bio for Mason on the blog if you wanna go check that out! The blog is .com and there's other cool stuff there! A review or what not would be vastly appreciated! Thank you!


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